Just got off the phone with the in-laws. Talked to his mom, his dad, one of his brothers, and his niece. Like I said in the parents thread, I disagree with a lot of the choices they made in raising their children (although a lot of that is just cultural differences). But they are really good people with huge hearts and have shown me nothing but love from day one.

So....Family:

Ancient History: One of my main complaints with my ex-boyfriend was that I had felt like he was almost hiding me. He had plenty of excuses why I couldn't meet them or whatever. After months and months of several issues piling up, the breaking point was when we were talking about me coming to see him a few months from then. I brought up the family thing, how I really wanted to meet just his Mom or someone. (At that point we would've had been together for almost 2 years so I didn't think that was too unreasonable). He reluctantly agreed and then he added "Mais je vais te presenter comme une amie, c'est tout" (But I'm going to introduce you as a friend, that's it). And that was...the final straw.

Less Ancient History: When I first met A (my SO), one of the things that really impressed me was how quickly he introduced me to and included me in his family. He doesn't live near his immediate family, but within a week or two of us dating, he had told his family about me and I had said hello to his mom on the phone. Within two months, I had "met" (via skype), every single one of his immediate family members and about 30% of the extended family. I was talking to his Mom about once every two weeks or so and we were often around his aunts/uncles/cousins.

Our engagement party was a highlight of his extended family's support. His immediate family couldn't be there (different country) but every other person with any sort of relation to him showed up. We had over 100 people. It was incredible. (That is only about 30% of his family...African families are giant) My parents were there for the party and they were overwhelmed by the warm welcome they received. Even though there was a bit of a language barrier, everyone was hugging and dancing and eating together. That day was one of the happiest of my life.

When I took a trip to the US in August/September to see my family before going to France, I went to Georgia to see his immediate family for Eid ul-Fitr (the end of Ramadan). I was pretty nervous to meet them by myself but I jumped in with two feet and it was amazing. It was a lot of what I'm used to in Africa anyway, sitting around while people talk quickly in Bambara. But it was the one-on-one moments that were really special. (For those who are curious: I speak mostly French with his parents with a little Bambara/Arabic mixed in and with his siblings, I speak English)

I am closest with his mom, I call her Tanti, which is like Auntie. Since I first talked to her, she has loved me and been supportive of me. She was incredibly helpful when I went through some hard times in Mali.
His dad, Tonton (uncle), is a really quiet man. I had only talked to him once briefly before meeting him so I was a bit nervous. But he and I got along really well and now he feels comfortable enough with me to talk on the phone when I call.
He has 3 brothers and 1 sister, all of whom I met when I was in Georgia for Eid. I love them, and though I will probably never be as close to them as I am with my own brother, I feel like they are family to me.

I feel really lucky that they his family has been so accepting of me. Sometimes I worry about when we move to the States because we will most likely live with or near them for the first few months while we figure things out and I hope that it doesn't become too intense!

Whew that was long. Short version: I'm thankful that my SO's parents are so great. The end.